Console best movie i've ever seen.

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

gradyharp BIRDS OF America is not a cinematic version of Lorrie Moore's best selling collection of short stories by the same name. This little tale of a dysfunctional family was written by Elyse Friedman, a Canadian novelist and screenwriter (Then Again, Long Short Story, Waking Beauty) whose works are summed up by the author: "If I had to sum up my characters in one word, I'd say 'outsiders.' There's not one particular source from where I get my inspiration. It comes from different places. I get it from life, and ideas pop into my head. I file them away and sooner or later it's time to deal with them, whether in screenplay, book, or poem or whatever it happens to be." Craig Lucas (Longtime Companion, Prelude to a Kiss, The Dying Gaul) joins Friedman in bringing this strange little story about outsiders and insiders, all living together under one bizarre roof. Morrie (Matthew Perry) is the older brother who raised his free-spirited siblings Jay (Ben Foster) and Ida (Ginnifer Goodwin) after the death of their parents. Their lives have gone in different directions: Morrie is a professor in line for tenure that happens to be at the mercy of his fellow academician Paul (Gary Wilmes) who lives next door to Morrie and his sturdy but 'it's time to start a family' wife Betty (Lauren Graham). Paul and his obsessive compulsive gardening wife-new-mother Laura (Hilary Swank) do all the right things, a trait Morrie and Betty try to emulate to assure Morrie's getting tenured, a move that will assure Betty that motherhood can be approached. Into this strained atmosphere drops Jay recovering from an accident (he lay on the freeway and was hit but not killed). Alone (he is married to a young girl Gillian (Zoë Kravitz) but does not share this information at first) Jay moves into Morrie's attic and continues his strange life pattern, imposing his Vegan style on the family and eventually inviting his equally looney sister Ida to move in, too: Ida takes the basement. The two siblings proceed to cause minor crises and dilemmas for Morrie, more or less resulting in Morrie's being alienated from his 'important' neighbors. How Morrie and Betty adjust to their new found way of life and its consequences provides an ending to the story. The film is slight and begs indulgence in some of the sidebars that are less than contributing to the film as a whole, but the cast is very good: Ben Foster and Ginnifer Goodwin continue to impress as they polish their acting skills. The story is a little on the crazy side, but it does provide another way of viewing a dysfunctional family. Grady Harp

D_Burke "Birds of America" is a quiet independent film that managed to get big names to star in it. I'm not sure what drew Matthew Perry, Lauren Graham, Ginnifer Goodwin, and (last but definitely not least) two-time Academy Award Winner Hillary Swank to star in this film, because the story went from taking plots and characters similar to movies I've seen before, to going in weird and confusing directions that make you go "huh?". Such directions are aided by random subplots.Matthew Perry plays Morrie, a college professor who had inherited his parents' house after his father fell out a window and his mother died from cancer. The problem was, he was just completing high school when it happened, and he still had two younger siblings to take care of. Those siblings grow up to be Jay (Ben Foster) a borderline psychotic who likes laying his head on concrete waiting for cars to come by, and Ida (Ginnifer Goodwin), a promiscuous party girl who is a little less crazy than her brother, but still hard to handle.The movie doesn't bother to even begin to explain how they got this way. All we know is that Morrie is still living in that house, is married to Betty (Lauren Graham, playing yet another distraught housewife), and (random subplot alert) has not had a bowel movement in a few months. When this point is revealed, the next scene you see is Perry sitting on a toilet seat with a Microsoft laptop in front of him and a MacBook on his left side. When seeing this scene, I thought to myself, "Why, movie, why?". It's a good thing Morrie isn't a germaphobe.Things get messy when Jay and Ida have nowhere to go, move into the old house, and continue to test both Morrie and Betty's patience. Morrie can't just dump them on the street because, I guess, they're family. However, the character of Jay, to me, seemed to be better off in a mental institution given his suicidal tendencies. Why that option never occurred to Matthew Perry's character at any point in this film is beyond me. Goodwin was good in her role as a misfit, and the film could have easily just kept her. It's not that Ben Foster didn't do a good job in his role. He did. Jay just seemed too heavy a character for this movie to handle, and could have been utilized better in another movie.It also surprises me that Hillary Swank took on such a thankless role as the suburban débutante next door to Morrie and Betty who happens to be married to Morrie's boss, Paul (Gary Wilmes). Swank turns in a one-dimensional performance here that could really have been played by anyone. In fact, for some reason, her character reminded me of a less over- the-top Babs ("That boy is a P-I-G Pig!") from "Animal House" (1978). Since she's not only a two-time Oscar winner, but an A-lister at that, it surprises me that she played a role this small. They could have gotten a no-name actress, and it would have cost a lot less.This movie suffers greatest from being a hodgepodge of subplots, all of which don't tie together well or resolve originally. In fact, the title of the movie, "Birds of America", comes from a first edition book Morrie also inherited from his father. In the beginning of the film, it's revealed that Jay ripped it to shreds for reasons the movie never explains. Is the book referred to again? Not until the closing credits, where you see L.L. Bean-esque pictures of birds from this aforementioned book. These credits only remind you that the movie could have made a metaphor that made sense using this book, but didn't even try to do so.And speaking of useless subplots with shifty solutions, remember the bowel trouble Morrie has? If you've seen "Me, Myself, and Irene" (2000), you can probably guess how it's going to resolve itself. This movie tried, but the plot felt messy, unrealistic, and forgettable at the same time. I can't give it a stronger recommendation.

kennyv11111 I know a nine is going to seem high. But after a slow start, this movie begins to grab at you. There are moments you feel the boundaries of realism have been touched upon, but somehow it all meshes together and becomes the heartfelt story it's meant to be.At times, you might suspect the actors were learning improvisational skills on the job, as they most definitely improved scene after scene. Give this movie the half hour investment of boredom you might endure, and you'll be grateful for the half hour you "suffered" through.Matthew Perry hasn't had the best of luck in reviews of his movies. I think this movie should certainly help to redeem any sagging career thoughts swirling is his head.

jakers12367 I was a little apprehensive going into this movie as Matthew Perry has not had much luck choosing successful films. While his television career has been critically successful with friends and studio 60, he is usually a victim of poor writing. In truth, although he will always be "Chandler Bing" as will the rest of the Friends crew, he does have talent for the dramatic. This is shown in "Birds of America" Being a future independent filmmaker, I chose to enter this movie with loosening my predisposed judgements and this helped me find the depth in the film. When watching independent cinema, you must always expect the unexpected and allow yourself to think outside the box.This film was significant as it dealt with the importance of family connection and being true to oneself. As well, it brings out the question "Is honesty always right". This has been a topic that has been debated for years. Honesty has always been thought of as a necessity, but what happens when it takes precedence to kindness? This is all dealt with during the film.In terms of the performances, I believe that the two strongest links in this film were Ginnifer Goodwin and Ben Foster as the "problem" siblings. Ginnifer Goodwin's mannerisms and subtle facial expressions really captivate the screen and for me, although Matthew Perry's character is considered the father figure in the story, she really is the central link of the sibling connection. Ben Foster was great as well. It's refreshing to see that some people in Hollywood are not encapsulated by money and fame and are just in acting for the material. Matthew Perry was very good as the older brother /father figure, but I found my attention drifting to the other characters performances when he was sharing scenes. Finally, Lauren Graham, who is also very talented and needs to make wiser choices than "Evan Almighty", was great as the desperate wife trying to get her husband to have a baby with her. In one scene, she makes washing clothes seem like such a luxury and with her subtle nuances, makes the audience truly feel for her.I thought the film was very good, but there were some slip ups. First off, Hilary Swank was wasted playing a stepford-wife type, which truth be told, could have been played by anyone. She is far better than that role. As well, although somewhat important to the theme of the film, I found the feces aspect of the film rather distracting and with exception to one humorous scene, took away from the storyline.It sometime amazes me that cinematography can be far superior in films with independent budgets. I really appreciate the "nature aspect that the cinematographer incorporated into the setting and I found that it really highlighted the themes of kindness and connection. The only complaint I have about the cinematography and lighting is that some scenes were very dark and it was difficult to truly connect with those scenes.All in all, it was a very good movie and I recommend it as a "lazy Sunday afternoon" type movie